EDITORIAL Newport News (VA) Daily Press: Don’t dilute protection for military loans“On a federal level, any moves to weaken federal protections for military borrowers is a non-starter and must be scrapped.”

Military.com: Lawmakers Charge Trump Administration Easing Up on Payday Lenders to Troops“On Twitter, the National Military Family Association urged the OMB to reconsider, saying, ‘Military families remain vulnerable to financial predators — protections under Military Lending Act and [CFPB] must remain strong.’ For more than a decade, military leaders, in statements and at congressional hearings, have warned troops of the dangers of being caught up in spiraling debt by resorting to payday lenders, many of whom set up storefronts just outside base main gates…. Troops often refer to payday lenders as ‘snakeheads,’ but many are still lured in by the promise of easy terms.”

ClearanceJobs.com: If the Military Lending Act Is in Jeopardy, so Are Clearances“Predatory lenders can destroy a service member’s credit. The Military Lending Act currently protects them, but that might be about to change…. Financial problems are the primary reason that workers and service members to lose their security clearances.”

New York Times: Mulvaney Looks to Weaken Oversight of Military Lending“The proposal surprised advocates for military families, who have urged the government to use its powers to crack down harder on unscrupulous lenders…. The agency’s supervisory exams have been critical in uncovering previous instances of wrongdoing and led to several of its biggest fines.”

Vox: The Trump administration is dismantling financial protections for the military“Predatory lenders disproportionately target military members. The CFPB will no longer supervise them…. ‘This is akin to removing your sentries from guard posts on military compounds….’ Retired Army Col. Paul Kantwill [said]…. ‘If they’re trying to roll back those types of protections, we are absolutely going to raise hell about that,’ Murray, of the VFW, said.”